[fic] Red and Fourth (Jack/OMC, Jack/Ianto; NC-17)

[rm]

Title: Red and Fourth
Pairing/Characters: Jack/OMC, Jack/Ianto
Author: rm
Rating/Content: NC-17; BDSM
Summary: Jack has a rebound relationship. Because Jack is a fuck-up it lasts for 45 years.
Wordcount: ~3300
Author's Note: Thanks to kalichan and tsarina for sitting through 800 different spellings of Lashansky and reassuring me I was on the right track.

Comments

[fmanalyst]

Fascinating, but ...

Martin Lashansky has seen a lot of things break a lot of people: pain, sex, affection. A story, though, that's something new, although he knows he shouldn't be surprised.

That's the line I need to think about. A story encapsulates -- summarizes and paraphrases -- the pain, sex, affection, other things that break someone. The story attempts to make sense of the breaking, and by making sense, heal. But it also keeps breaking, each time it's told. Each recitation lances a wound, cutting to repair. I'm suddenly reminded now of Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, which I should read again. I read it in high school 30 years ago.

[rm]

Thank you, and thank you for seeing that. There are a lot of little twisty things in here because of the time issues and because of my own obsessions and because of the elephant in the room that's dead!Ianto, and I'm glad they played for you.

[count_to_seven]

I was dubious at first... but holy hell, you showed me.

I'm not a huge fan of the structure but I definitely loved what I can only assume is your personal concept of his back (future?) story. For something so quiet, there was definite momentum. Beautiful.

[rm]

Thank you! The structure is probably slightly less fucked now than when you first read it, since my eye for typos and errant punctuation marks is shit, but yeah -- when the story insisted on being this shape (early drafts had a perfectly normal, more detailed narrative structure) I knew it was narrowing the door. Thank you for sticking it out!

[marita_c]

Truly wonderful. I loved that this story was about Jack, and about Jack/Ianto, but it was also about so many other, completely unrelated things. Some parts made my mind go to all sort of places, but without losing focus of the story.

And the ending!!! Perfect!!!

[rm]

Thank you!

[laughingacademy]

Jack Harkness laughs, sobers, and then introduces himself.

As Ianto Jones.

Ow ow OW. Thank goodness Martin Lashansky (who, by the way, has some extraneous periods after his name) had the insight and patience to help.

I love the idea of people calling Mars “Red and Fourth,” and the weirdness of any green thing being considered a nuisance plant, and the idea of Jack serving as a majordomo for the foremost bordello manager matchmaker on the planet.

[rm]

Thank you (and perhaps especially for the hideous period catch! I think I've gotten them all now -- one day, I'll learn to fucking proofread enough times before posting)!

[redstapler]

This is beautiful.

My head is full of commentary about sex and love and mourning, my meaning of which I'm sure you can suss out.

I needed this tonight, thank you.

[rm]

Yup. I write the most optimistic death!fic around, I think.

Thank _you_.